Progress is the Opposite of Congress

I really feel like we're picking up steam with Emma in the last week. The summer is really great for this. The temp of the garage makes me want to get out there.

Does anyone remember this thing?

The monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey?

Man. I wish.

Anyway, it's the backing that goes between the back seat and the trunk! We finally opened and installed it, but first some modifications to make it (actually) fit.

One thing to remember - repro parts almost never fit. A 60 year old car isn't shaped like it was when it came off the production line (me too, car. me too.)

So Wife got to cuttin':

We finally got it shaped to the point where it fit like a charm!

After that we tackled a few of the drain holes in the floor pans - we've had the parts for these since... I dunno... last summer? Sitting in the toolbox. Waiting for the floor to be treated/painted.

Like before, the holes that exist for the screws on the sides of those things.... well they don't fit. I don't want to be ungentlemanly, but she's a little... loose... after 60 years of action. Ifyouknowwhatimean.

So anyway, I have a little tin of nuts and bolts, and we found the right ones... put a whole shitload of RTV (goo) on the underside of the plugs (that's the copper colored gunk below) - and worked together to get them tightened down.

HOWEVER, because we didn't use factory bolts... this is what it looked like under the car:

Suboptimal. Got busy using the reciprocating saw to cut those off. Still ugly, but not comically long.

I need some more grinding bits for my death-wheel, and then we can grind them down properly. Not an emergency.

There are also some round drain holes which will require rubber plugs - those are on order. The original ones basically disintegrate in your hands.

Then we keep moving forward with finishing the sealing on the bottom of the car, filling the pin holes (by the way - the fills on the passenger side look fantastic. They're just waiting to be sanded down), sealing again, and then sound deadener!!

Super excited for all of this. And to drive the car again.

Brian Kerven